Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from wilful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless innocent of great transgressions. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19.12-14
We have, I hope, in this series of devotions, marvelled at the wonder of the heavens, the works of God’s hands and the glories of his Word which fill in what creation cannot tell us. While marvelling is an appropriate and right response we also need to let the truths which we have seen penetrate deep into our souls. When that happens we will be in the position in which David found himself as he penned the closing words of the psalm.
He was conscious, in the light of who God is, that he was sinful. Who can discern his errors?
We are prone to have a high view of ourselves but we need to acknowledge that we constantly fall short and miss the mark. So David aware of this prays two things which should be our prayers also.
First, to be forgiven for the sins that he is either not aware of or which he has pushed from his memory (hidden faults) and second, that God will keep him from wilful sins – those which he knowingly commits or at the very least cause him remorse when the realisation hits him. He asks in the first case to be kept from such sins and in the second that they may not rule over him.
The outcome of such praying we will consider in our final devotion on this psalm, tomorrow but in the meantime lets be as real and honest as was David. As we are honest in this way we will come to the realisation, if we have not done so already, that we are just like David and need to come before God as David did in order that we may enjoy being blameless in God’s sight. But that is tomorrow!